The GelSight system isn’t a replacement for microscopes in the labs of biologists and others working with the truly tiny: While these pictures resemble images made by a scanning electron microscope, they have nowhere near the resolution (SEM images are orders of magnitude finer, on the nanometer rather than micrometer level). But anyone examining the surface of objects—materials scientists, for example, who study materials like concrete, plastic, and glass—it’s an exciting possible addition to their toolkit.

Here, the surface of the sticky part of a Post-It note shows both the fibers of the paper and the globules of glue.